Friday, January 30, 2009

Not too sure if this is pure marketing genius or blatant racism at its core. Either way, it's worthy of a watch. Score two for Skitties on viral marketing (the first being that brilliant "Everything I Touch Turns Into Skittles" commercial).

The Vanguard Way House by Morrison Seifert Murphy reflects my kinda style of living. Tall ceilings. Huge windows. Tiny footprint. Of course I wouldn't build it in Texas, despite the Vietnamese population supposedly booming over there.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

I'll say it now and I'll say it again - just because it was a great video game doesn't mean it'll equate into a great movie. That said, Max Payne is still decent, despite straying a few blocks away from what it should have been. For one, the casting of Marc Walberg as Max Payne is an excellent choice - if only he played the part correctly. Instead of the insane emo maniac from the video game (with the crazy facial expressions when he fired those firearms), we have a completely emo and flat character with no emotions at all. He's just... well... emo. And that's not the Max Payne we all know and love. Ashame really, with all the production value and great editing, that Marc had to give such a lifeless performance, sinking this movie to lower than average score. 7.1/10.

Monday, January 26, 2009

If you asked me two years back what color I wanted my floors to be, I'd have to stop what I'm doing and give an extensive explanation on how awesome black-painted floors would look. Now, after realizing how much dust collects onto my PS3, white and oak are the only two colors left for me. Though white does sound exceptionally fun right now... Need a tutorial? Check out Door Sixteen's.

That and the girl-man complex Lissy Trullie holds so true, makes them one of the hottest commodities on the teen obsession meat market in 2009. Don't believe me? You'll just have to hear it for yourself. Also, their EP should be hitting stores Feb. 17th, so check it out if you like what you hear!Lissy Trullie - Self-Taught Learner (MP3)

Somebody tell me he isn't serious. He's got so much hip in him that an imaginary conversation with him already puts me in a daze, causing me to question why the pieces in my life never align up to the trends set forth by social media. Or maybe I'm just truly mesmerized by them Big Bird-colored kicks.

Friday, January 23, 2009

I'm so glad Naughty Dog decided to make a follow-up to one of my favorite games of 2007, Uncharted. Now, you'll actually be able to shoot people while climbing stuff, adding a whole entire new dynamic to the game. So, am I excited? Pfft, hell yes!

Most prison movies are essentially the same ol' story told with different characters. However, Felon manages to break this mold by authentically portraying a gritty and realistic prison system with its own set of politics and rules. The excellent performances by both Stephen Dorff and Val Kilmer brings the characters to life and the passionate direction by Ric Roman Waugh keeps the pacing on point, never stopping until the final conclusion that brings everything back from chaos. 8.4/10.

This is probably the best banana nut bread recipe I have ever had. It's adapted from one at Food Network's own masterful bakers, Tyler Florence. Lastly, for the record, this recipe is much easier if you have lots of bowls and a mixing stand available at your disposal. You can still whisk if you'd like, it just takes a lot longer.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon; set aside.

Mash 2 of the bananas with a fork in a small bowl so they still have a bit of texture. With an electric mixer fitted with a wire whisk, whip the remaining bananas and sugar together (in a separate bowl) for a good 3 minutes; you want a light and fluffy banana cream. Add the melted butter, eggs, and vanilla; beat well and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Mix in the dry ingredients just until incorporated; no need to overly blend. Fold in the nuts and the mashed bananas with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Give the pan a good rap on the counter to get any air bubbles out.

Bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Don't get nervous if the banana bread develops a crack down the center of the loaf; that's no mistake, it's typical. Rotate the pan periodically to ensure even browning.

Cool the bread in the pan for 10 minutes or so, and then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely before slicing. Toast the slices of banana bread, dust with confectioners' sugar, and serve.

This, in addition to their IKEA PS, has got to be one of the best designs I've seen from the mighty blue giant lately, and it's been a real struggle keeping myself from buying one to store all my art prints. But quite frankly, I just don't have any remaining space in my apartment for the sexy lil' thang. Ah, well... $120 saved.

Bram Stroker's Dracula is one of those films that reel people in by making it seem like some kind of intense horror flick, but instead stayed completely true to the Stroker's novel, putting the focus on an intense love that transcends time rather a complete bloodfest (which most people had originally thought the movie to be). Overall, it's probably one of the better Dracula movies out there, benefiting from great acting throughout (even Keanu manages to convince at times), superb cinematography work, and Coppola-grade work that makes it as memorable as it is spiritually vampiric. 8.5/10.

For some reason or another, I still haven't had the chance to complete Little Big Planet. Yet, whenever I spot a costume as cute as this one, my motivation comes back full force and I'm off attempting all the achievements once again. Come to think of it, where are the Ninja Turtle levels, people? Ah, I guess this gives me something to do this weekend...

Monday, January 19, 2009

Well, after much criticism from almost every game review site I follow, I decided to give Mirror's Edge a go anyway. I did, after all, enjoy the great demo and figured if it's anything half of what the demo had to offer, then it'd be worth it. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. What I found was that the gameplay consisted of nothing but a bunch of pointless running around with terrible level design, cut-scene direction, and story (yeah, what story?). The only thing that barely saves are the graphics, but that's only if you're playing the console version. The PC port is not optimized at all and will probably just give you a really bad headache after playing a few minutes into it. Wait, no, the entire game his a headache. Even gives me a migraine just thinking about it. 6.8/10.

Ain't nothing like a dedicated gallery for something I have completely no understand of nor money to support as an addiction. Still, it looks dope and I really would like to start painting my shoes sparkly gold to see what kind of looks I'll get from people. More here.

Friday, January 16, 2009

Pot comedies don't usually get well received, but it's hard to find anything wrong with Pineapple Express. It's about weed, yes, but it's also about over-the-top-ness, having a good time with friends, and a wonderful performance by James Franco. Some may argue that it's nothing you haven't seen before, but the screenplay itself is nothing but sheer excellence as you cannot find a scene that's not filled with comedy, dialogue, and gags to keep you going 'til the very end. So grab a few buddies, bust out the drinks, and get ready to have a grand ol' time. 8.8/10.

Man, why do I put myself through these things. This is really just trash. Terrible animation. Voice acting gives me a migraine. There is absolutely nothing in this movie that I enjoyed. Do not waste your time with this one. 5.1/10.

While I don't condone biting designs from another company, I can definitely see the attraction in doing so. So let's compare take a cold hard look at MSI's "Apple-inspired" Wind, shall we?

First off, I'm going to have to agree with the masses. As a netbook, the Macbook Air is outrageously priced given what you're getting. A 4200 RPM hard drive? Please. With specs this terrible, you'd probably guess that given enough time, someone would develop a Hacknintosh alternative and throw a pirated version of OSX onto it.

And so that's what happened. Except now, you have a company that's shamelessly stealing a design and actually turning into an ugly piece of shit. How is that possible, especially if you try and blantantly stealing a design off Apple? Whether you're in agreement or not, it's outright ridiculous that they're not getting sued already by Apple.

More value, I must agree, but again, stealing is wrong and there's no doubt MSI's wearing the darkside shorts here. That, in addition with their reputation of ripping off customers with rebates in the past, convinces me to say that their entry into the netbook playing field is dispicable and doesn't deserve a penny from consumers.

As long as there are people who shop at Walmart and Hong Kong knock-off manufacturers looking to make an easy dime, there will be MSI. And as long as Apple continues to price shit so goddamn high, consumers will only get more inbred retard looking alternatives designed for bottom feeders.

Overdrive Gauge now = Groove Gauge. Get your funk on to activate super psychedelic attacks! But no really, in all seriousness, it's nice to see Square Enix finally reintroducing the brotha' to the franchise again. Just take a look at Barret - the angry guy with a machine gun on his arm - he's got to be one of the best characters ever created for any video game.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

If you ask me, you can never really go wrong when it comes to using a wookie as subject matter for art. Absolutely loving the 5-color screen print found over at Nakatomi Inc. Too bad they're forcing you to buy it with a shitty pink t-shirt.

Like addictive, mind-bending puzzle games? I do. A game that utilizes barely any system resources, it's a great way to make use of an old laptop or computer. Now the gameplay, it's excellent. Addicting. Like crack. Play it and you'll see what I mean. 8.8/10.

The BLT: Who can go wrong with bacon, lettuce, tomato and mayo on sourdough? Try adding avocado for extra oomph or frying bacon in balsamic vinegar. It's godly.

The Cubano: I love these things ever since I had one in New York for the very first time. It's classic ham, roasted pork, green chilis, and swiss cheese with pickles and mustard in between two pieces of Cuban bread. Mmmm-mmm.

The Pulled Pork Sandwich: There's nothing like a slow-cooked pork shoulder and hamburger bun. Cook it with your favorite BBQ sauce and you'll get the perfect sandwich for cookouts. Serve with coleslaw.

The Turkey Cranberry: Discovered at Togos and now I make it on the daily. There's no better combination of sweet and salty out there.